Deru Shawn Liu

Senior Grandmaster, 2023

Deru Shawn Liu is a 31st generation Grandmaster of Shaolin Kung Fu. Born in China, he received an Oriental Medical Doctor degree from the Wushu Traditional Chinese School of Medicine in Anhui Province, China, and, later, a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of South Alabama. Although technically a Buddhist monk, he says that he is “an ordinary Shaolin disciple who happened, since childhood, to have been traveling in Chan.” In 1995 he was selected as head coach of the U.S. Wushu-Kungfu Federation (USAWKF) National Sanshou Team and Technical Chairman for the Pan American Wushu-Kungfu Federation. He served as chief referee for national and international Sanshou competitions. Since 1999, he has operated the Shaolin Institute, in Atlanta, Georgia, where he teaches Kung Fu, Taiji, Qigong, and Sanshou, and practices traditional Chinese medicine. He hosts local and regional fighting competitions throughout the Southeast and promotes ancient Shaolin Chan (Zen) Buddhist philosophy through his Shaolin Chan Foundation.